


Be My Hero

by ActualDorianPavus



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Mild Gore, Post-Canon Fix-It, Rescue, josh throws up a little at one point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 18:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11041917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ActualDorianPavus/pseuds/ActualDorianPavus
Summary: Alone. That was what struck Josh most. After the Wendigo didn't come back, Josh was all alone. He wondered if anyone cared that he was gone. He thought of his family. His friends.Chris.Chris, and everything he never told him.





	Be My Hero

**Author's Note:**

> the josh washington rescue we deserved...

Josh had never been a fan of the mines up on the mountaintop. Ever since he was a child, coming up to the cabin for the first time, wanderlust getting the better of him and leading him toward the seemingly endless caverns. The shifting shadows and echoes of what may have been rocks falling yards away or perhaps something else entirely making him uneasy. The maze of tunnels, knowing anyone could enter from any way imaginable; never quite certain if you were alone... Terrifying to a young boy. Terrifying still, as he was left beside the yellowed glow of lanterns.

He wasn't alone, that much was absolute, unless the monsterous thing once called Hannah that had dragged him into the dark had only been in his mind. Not impossible, he supposed, but the familiar monsters that Josh usually saw didn't move him from place to place on their own. Not unless he was running from them.

No, no, Josh wasn't alone. Not that he knew where she- _it_ -had gone. (He couldn't call it her. It wasn't Hannah. That wasn't his sister anymore). But even so, not alone.

Somehow, lost in abandoned mines with a Wendigo wasn't a very comforting thought, no matter how much he feared isolation. At least he wasn't dead.

Then again, maybe that wasn't the best thought either. All things considered, death might have been better than this.

Josh hadn't moved since he'd been dropped here, gouges on his sides from where he'd been seized by the creature's bloodied claws too painful to do much of anything. Wendigo off to God-knows-where, Josh had been left to wonder if anyone knew where he was, though the better question may have been if anyone really cared.

Shudders wracked his body as he recalled his only companion on the scene, Mike. Mike, who had just hidden and watched as Josh was dragged away...

If it was up to Mike to tell the others...

Josh croaked a bitter laugh for no one to hear and tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

His only other choice would be to find the way out on his own. Even if he was well enough to stand, there was no way. That thing was too fast to follow outside, and who knew what would happen to Josh if he were to get caught trying to escape. The fact that he hadn't been killed on sight had been a miracle; he shouldn't push his luck.

Footsteps echoed and Josh curled into himself further as the Wendigo came into view. He closed his eyes, bracing for whatever was to come. He could smell blood, and heard a heavy thud mere inches away from where he sat. On odd clicking sound he recognized as the monster reached his ears, before the footfalls retreated back into the caverns again. Josh didn't open his eyes until he was certain it had gone.

Of course, when he did, he just as soon wished he hadn't.

A body. A corpse. Josh's eyes snapped shut and he turned away again, forcefully stifling a scream with his own palm. The smell of blood was overwhelming and the brief glimpse he'd gotten of the lower torso looked half chewed. He could feel bile rising in the back of his throat and he scrambled back as far as he could manage. His sides burned at the sharp movements, feet desperately pushing at the ground as he curled against the unrelenting rock wall.

Josh had been around offal before; his own death had to be convincing after all, and dummies full of organs weren't exactly sold at the supermarket. He'd eviscerated the dead pigs and stuffed the hollow, plastic torso all on his own, but this... This wasn't the same.

This was a person. An actual, once-breathing person with a home and maybe even a family, once. A human being who stared blankly up at the top of the mines, (though now that he looked again, the head was apparently severed from the neck), flesh of the stomach savagely torn away and eaten by the Wendigo, no doubt.

So why leave it down here? He imagined giant, man-eating monsters weren't known for saving their leftovers. Why bother bringing it _(him...?)_ down into the mines if it was finished?

Unless this wasn't for the Wendigo...

This time, Josh couldn't keep it down, turning and retching violently off to his side. He shook as he finished, coughing and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

This man was for Josh. It was _feeding_ him; Josh was expected to _eat_ the body before him. The very thought nearly made him sick all over again. If there was no way to escape the mines, he might _actually_ have to-

Choking back tears as he held himself feebly against the wall, Josh prayed to anything, anything that heard him that someone would find him. Anyone, he didn't care who as long as he was found.

He thought of Sam, and he thought of Matt. He thought of Jess, Emily, Mike and even _Ashley_. How much he missed them already. They might be angry with him, but... But they wouldn't just leave him down here, would they?

Then, he thought of Chris. Of course he thought of Chris. Thought of his smile, his laugh, his hair and his eyes. God, he missed those eyes...

He might never get to see those eyes again. All the things Josh had never told him... He never told Chris about the nightmares. The hallucinations. How Chris made him forget about them for a while, whenever he was around. He never told Chris that seeing him fawn and fumble over Ashley tore him apart from the inside out and not because Josh felt sorry for Chris. He never told Chris he'd probably been in love since that fateful day in 3rd grade but just didn't realize it until he was 16. He never told Chris that now, four years later, he was still hopelessly in love.

Josh only sobbed harder. Too little, too late.

Some time had passed before Josh heard anything again; somewhere between the crying and now, he'd managed to fall asleep which was more or less forced upon him from exhaustion. How long Josh had been asleep, he couldn't say, a few hours maybe. The dizzying smell of blood when he awoke reminded Josh that this hadn't been just a bad dream.

Footsteps. Probably her- It. _It._  (That was _not_ his sister- _not_ Hannah - not anymore.)  He wanted to stand; wanted to run but fear and pain kept him frozen in place. Who knew what would happen if he were to be pursued. Even if Josh could get to his feet fast enough, he doubted he could outrun a Wendigo, with or without the wounds upon his waist. So he sat. Silent; unmoving, listening to the footsteps in the darkness. Closer, closer, closer...

And then they stopped.

Josh didn't remember closing his eyes, but when they opened again, he was met with not a tall, spindly figure with needle-like teeth, but a light. Blinding white as it shone upon him. Josh's face contorted with discomfort and he shut his eyes again, looking away from it. What was that? As much as it hurt his eyes, it almost seemed angelic. Heavenly. Had he died? Passed away peacefully in his sleep? That would be a blessing, at this point...

Josh would learn soon that no, he hadn't died, but that didn't mean heaven hadn't found it's way to him.

"Josh?" Came a voice; one Josh recognized. One that had him opening his eyes again and looking forward, (despite the blinding light that assaulted his vision), just to catch a glimpse. It seemed too good to be true. There, just behind the bright circle of white, the faintest glow from the dying lantern beside Josh illuminated his savior. An angel walking on Earth disguised as a man. A hero. A _friend_.

"...Chris?" Josh spoke, voice barely above a whisper, trembling and tentative. _Please,_ he begged his own mind. _No more hallucinations. Please, let him be real._

Then the light moved from his face. There was a sharp clattering against the mine floors and Josh could see the light rolling away somewhere to the side. Not that it really mattered. He could see Chris in the dim lantern's light. Clearer now, without watering eyes from a too-bright glow. He was coming closer, and then Chris was _there_.

Wrapped up in large arms, Josh felt for the first time in a long time how it felt to be safe. Even with his injured waist burning in protest of the vicelike grasp, Josh wasn't about to lose a single moment of this.

"Josh," Chris repeated, voice trembling and breaking on the single word. Even if he couldn't see Chris' face, Josh could picture it. Blue eyes filled with tears, reddened tracks streaking down pale cheeks and trembling lower lip. Josh almost wanted to cry too.

Josh's throat felt dry, and his voice rasped as he attempte to croak out a joke, "Hey, c-c'mon Cochise... You're kinda crushing me, here." The worlds only made Chris hiccup and squeeze him tighter. It was an eternity before Chris let go of him, and Josh was meeting the teary gaze of the young man he loved so dearly. "You're a mess..."

Josh raised a hand to wipe away a tear with his thumb, only have it captured by Chris. He intertwined their fingers and kept Josh's hand pressed against his cheek, as if he would disappear if Chris let him go. "You're _alive_..." Chris choked. "Mike... He... I-I... He said the Wendigo took you away... Down here, and I-I..." Another hiccuping sob escaped Chris; more tears running over Josh's thumb. "I just... ran. Ran down here- A-After the fire and I just... I had to find you, Josh, I _had_ to, I-!"

Josh could feel his heart breaking as Chris sobbed and gasped against his palm, nearly hyperventilating. He looked so utterly broken. Bruise on his forehead, torn clothes, a mix of blood that could have been Chris' or someone else's... He'd gone through so much. So much _Josh_ had put him through. So _needlessly_... The others deserved to be punished. Mike, Emily, Matt, _Ashley_... All of them. But not Chris. He never knew about Beth and Hannah, not until it was all over. Chris hadn't hurt anyone but Josh; and he didn't even know...

Vengeance and jealousy had gotten so tangled and twisted in Josh's mind back at the lodge, and even just moments ago in the mines. What was punishment for Beth and Hannah and what was punishment for choosing Ashley instead... It was so blurred. Impossible to tell, then, rational thought left inside the orange prescription pill bottle on his dresser back home, but it all seemed so obvious now. So clear. Chris had always had a way of clearing Josh's head. And now? Now Chris was sobbing against his hand, squeezing it like a man who hadn't been touched in eons, glasses filthy and chest heaving.

_My fault..._ A surge of guilt twisted his stomach, and up came Josh's other hand, pressing to Chris' cheek affectionately. He gently drew his head forward, settling their foreheads together. "You could have been _killed_ , Chris..."

"I-"

"Or lost. Hell, _I_ could have been dead-"

"I wouldn't have been killed," Chris said, voice firm yet watery. "It's not... The- The Wendigo isn't coming back."

Josh felt a rush of undefinable emotion at those words, swallowing thickly and slowly nodding. He didn't get to dwell there for long; Chris spoke up again.

"Even if it wasn't... Even if I'd gotten lost or killed, or _you_ had been-" Chris' voice broke there, and he stopped for a moment. Josh continued to stroke his cheek. "I wouldn't have cared. Josh, I'd rather die trying to save you, than live the rest of my life without you."

There was silence after that; brown eyes thrown wide open, mouth agape in pure, unadulterated shock. Yet even after the stunning admission, the most shocking thing that would happen to Josh that night, even after his Wendigo-d sister and friends nearly being killed, would be what followed...

Whether from the joy of finding him, the adrenaline of his confession, or simply the thought of almost losing Josh for good, Chris surged forward and captured Josh's lips with his own. The kiss was messy, awkward, had their teeth clacking briefly, and was filled with a passion Josh had only thought existed in movies. Perfect, in other words.

Chris wasn't about to let Josh go anytime soon, he could already tell, (not that Josh was really complaining), and this probably would have been more enjoyable without the decapitated body some feet to the right that Chris had either missed or just ignored. Still, Josh couldn't bring himself to care. This was the best thing that had happened to him since this hell night had started, _nothing_ was going to ruin it for him. Arms wound around Chris' broad shoulders, and Josh pressed up against Chris as much as he dared, waist still stinging in protest.

Eventually, it was Chris who pulled away, making Josh whine and lean after him, chasing the touch of lips he'd desired for so long. The briefest taste already had him addicted. Chris laughed for the first time since the evening had begun, and it had to be the most beautiful sound Josh had ever heard.

Chris pressed another, brief kiss to the corner of Josh's mouth, before picking up the discarded flashlight and bringing himself to his feet. He offered a hand to Josh, who shook his head.

"I can't... Han-... It got me pretty good when it grabbed me. Can't stand up so good, Cochise."

Chris looked at Josh for a while, clearly deep in thought, and then his eyes lit up. The way Josh knew they always did whenever he got an idea. He was crouching down, an arm moving beneath Josh's legs, another carefully resting across his back. "Hold onto me, okay?"

_Don't need to tell me twice._ Josh's hands linked behind Chris' neck, and then the ground was getting further a way from him.

_Oh my god._

Josh was being picked up. He was being carried like a bride by _Chris_ and for the second time that night, Josh was certain he'd died. This had to be heaven, and Chris his own guardian angel.

They were moving back the way Chris had come, and Josh didn't need to ask how Chris remembered the way. He probably left a trail or something. Josh trusted him implicitly, so he settled his head against Chris' shoulder and relaxed as he was carried off. Maybe some knights wore about six layers of coats and sweaters, instead of shining armor.

Of course, Josh's mind couldn't let him enjoy things for long. It poked and prodded at him until Josh finally allowed his thoughts, (anxiety and jealousy) a voice. "...What about Ashley?"

Chris looked down at Josh, stopping in his tracks. He seemed more confused than anything.

"Ashley. You know... I thought you and her..."

Josh couldn't really see Chris's face that well, but he could tell it was coloring that pale pink it always did whenever Ashley was the topic of discussion. Josh dreaded what Chris was about to say because of it.

"I... We were. Kind of, I guess... I did like Ashley. A lot. She's nice, and funny, and pretty..."

Josh's heart beat faster, stomach filling with anxiety and dread. Maybe it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing... Maybe Chris had weird ideas on what platonic was... Maybe-

"But, you know, the thought of losing you, compared to losing her... They were both bad, but you... I couldn't stand it. Hearing that someone you care about could be dead really puts things in perspective, you know?" Josh felt Chris' lips pressing against his forehead, heart fluttering in his chest. "Makes you finally realize what you want in life. And I want you, Josh. Even after what you did... I was angry, but dude, after tonight, that was _nothing_... I'm in love with you. I think I always have been, but I'm kind of an idiot." Then they started walking again.

Josh hid his face against Chris' shoulder, smiling and hiding his teary eyes. "...That's fucking gay, Cochise."

Chris laughed uproariously at that, nearly dropping Josh in the process. Shaking his head, he retorted, "Kind of the idea, dude."

"Mm... Can we get pizza when he get home?"

"Sure."

"Ice cream?"

"Anything you want, man."

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, and Josh was happy. Happier than he'd been in a long time.

Today was hell. Josh wouldn't soon forget it, but he wasn't going to worry about it, because right here, right now? None of it mattered.

Josh was alive. Chris was alive. They were going home. Josh could see the snowy ground as they reached the exit of the mines, hear what must have been police sirens and Josh was happy. Josh had Chris, and he was so, so happy.

**Author's Note:**

> i know hannah grabbed josh by the head/neck but like... let him be carried


End file.
